The delusional followers of Donald Trump

It means eventually, facts and evidence count. It has become a cliche for critics of Trump to charge his actions and thoughts with "being above the law". He is not, so he must "be held accountable". His devoted followers appear to think as president past and present he does not have to obey any laws and he should not be held accountable for breaking them.. Facts and testimony are all politically motivated, so just ignore them, they believe. These devoted followers of Trump are delusional for now because once indictments and suits reach a jury of peers who listen to both sides of the issue, facts and evidence do count. The chickens ultimately come home to roost.

Per a recent poll, Trump's devoted followers are around 28 to 30 percent of Republican and leaning Republican voters. 230032-nbc-january-2023-poll-v2-129-release.pdf (documentcloud.org) 

 Today, Trump is preferred by a a little over 50  percent of GOP voters over the rest of the announced primary field,National : President: Republican primary : 2024 Polls | FiveThirtyEight  

 About 49 % of all voters and  25%    of Republicans think he is guilty in indictments to date.A New Poll on the Trump Indictments Has a Surprising Result - POLITICO

Did you notice that every time there is an announcement of an indictment or a civil suit involving Trump, his supporters claim it is a witch hunt or due to the weaponization of (Biden, DOJ, etc) a) even before the text of the indictment or pleading is made public or b) after it is made public they said they did not read it because it was political so the evidence in it totally ignored? The implication of this pattern of behavior is the content or evidence in the charges is not the issue or is to be discussed and challenged. Their goal is to keep Trump safe from the legal process, facts and evidence notwithstanding, because his followers just do not care about evidence and facts/ or even respect a judicial system of a trial by a jury of peers that makes their decisions based on facts and evidence. The idiocy of this is when or if he is found guilty or liable, his devotees claim it was just politics and with Trump in control of the justice system, he can get retribution and revenge.

This is not a charming habit, but a dangerous one to a democracy that is built upon all participants in this following rules (we call laws) by all who are rational human beings. Studiously ignoring evidence and facts is not a rational approach.; It is a dangerous worship of a wannabe leader who believes he is the law and he will choose which law to follow that will get or keep himself in power.

Holding a person accountable should not mean the defendant is automatically presumed guilty, either. It means giving him a chance to refute the evidence and facts before whoever is making the judgment, whether a jury or a judge. Voters need that resolution before the 2024 election to make a rational decision as well.

Trump wants the trial delayed until after the 2024 election day. It is a strategy and a self-serving ploy that deprives voters of the critical information they need to cast a rational vote.. It also is an obvious ploy, gambling on his reelection, so once in office again, he can pardon himself if he is found guilty by a jury. It is hard to imagine a convicted criminal could remain in office or have any credibility to be respected by our allies. He then is indeed "above the law" and does not need to obey any law that would get in his way of restricting his control. There are no consequences for his actions. It becomes a government by and for Trump's loyalists but not for the rest of us. That is what is at stake in Novembe 2024.